Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Las Cruces labor force rises while unemployment edges to 4.4%, city economist reports
Summary
City economist Monica Torres told the Las Cruces City Council work session that labor force and payroll counts rose in fiscal year 2025 while the unemployment rate increased to 4.4%; matched taxable gross receipts grew modestly and construction and cannabis markets showed mixed trends.
Monica Torres, the city economist for Las Cruces Economic Development, told the City Council at its Aug. 25 work session that the city’s labor force and payrolls grew in fiscal year 2025 even as the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%.
Torres said, “the labor force rose 1.3, which is about almost 700 persons on average to a total of 54,000,” and that the number of payrolls increased about 0.8% (roughly 800 payrolls) to about 52,000. She reported the count of people actively looking for work rose 14% to about 2,391 and described the unemployment rate as having “ticked up from 3.9 to 4.4%.”
Why it matters: changes in employment, taxable sales and construction affect city revenues, service demand and capital planning. Torres’ presentation fed into council discussion about workforce needs and the city’s revenue forecast as officials prepare priorities tied to a recently approved gross…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
